Britain's American colonies broke with the mother country in 1776 and were recognized as the new nation of the United States of America following the Treaty of Paris in 1783. During the 19th and 20th centuries, 37 new states were added to the original 13 as the nation expanded across the North American continent and acquired a number of overseas possessions.

1876 - The Chiricahua Apache chief Geronimo began ten years of raids against white settlements when the US government attempted to move his tribe from their
traditional home in Arizona to a reservation in New Mexico.

1886 - The negotiations for Geronimo’s final surrender took place in Skeleton Canyon, near present day Douglas,
Arizona, in 1886.

1898 - The Arizona Cardinals are the oldest continuous franchise in the National Football League, dating back to
1898.

1911 - Arizona became the home of the first major irrigation project by the US Bureau of Reclamation when former US president Theodore Roosevelt dedicated
a dam on the Salt River.

1912 -Arizona became the 48th state and last of the contiguous states on February 14, 1912.
In 1912, President William Howard Taft was ready to make Arizona a state on February 12, but it was Lincoln’s birthday. The next day, the 13th, was considered bad
luck so they waited until the following day. That’s how Arizona became known as the “Valentine State.”

1913 - The battleship USS Arizona was named in honor of the state. It was commissioned in 1913 and launched in 1915 from the Brooklyn Navy Yard.

The Saguaro Cactus Blossom became Arizona official state flower on Mar 16, 1931. The white
flower blooms on the tips of the saguaro cactus during May and June. The Saguaro cactus is the largest cactus found in the U.S. It
can grow as high as a five-story building and is native to the Sonoran Desert, which stretches across southern Arizona. A saguaro cactus can store up to nine
tons of water.

1966 - Despite early conservation efforts, Apache trout were considered endangered under the Federal Endangered Species Preservation Act of 1966.
Apache trout became federally protected with passage of the Endangered Species Act in 1973.

1990 - The hottest recorded day in Phoenix was June 26, 1990, when the temperature hit 122 degrees.

More Arizona History Firsts - Arizona State Facts

The “Five C’s” of Arizona’s economy are: Cattle, Copper, Citrus, Cotton, and Climate.
Historically, Arizona's strongest economic support came from the Four C's – cotton, copper, cattle, and citrus. In recent years, a fifth – climate – has been added

Arizona leads the nation in copper production. Arizona's most abundant mineral is copper.

The amount of copper on the roof of the Capitol building is equivalent to 4,800,000 pennies

The geographic center of Arizona is 55 miles (89 kilometers) southeast of Prescott.

Four Corners is the spot in the United States where a person can stand in four states at the same time.

Arizona has 3,928 mountain peaks and summits—more mountains than any one of the other Mountain States (Colorado,
Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming). Arizona has 26 peaks that are more than 10,000 feet in elevation

Rising to a height of 12,643 feet, Mount Humphreys north of Flagstaff is the state's highest mountain.

All of New England, plus the state of Pennsylvania would fit inside Arizona. Arizona is roughly
the size of Italy. Arizona is the 6th largest state in the nation, covering 113,909 square miles

Arizona has more parks and national monuments than any other state, more mountains than Switzerland, and more golf courses than Scotland.

There are 11.2 million acres of National Forest in Arizona, and one-fourth of the state forested.

Arizona is a right-to-work state. The law states no person shall be denied the opportunity to obtain or retain employment because of non-membership in a labor organization.

The state's precipitation varies. At Flagstaff the annual average is 18.31 inches; Phoenix averages 7.64 inches; and Yuma's annual average is 3.27 inches.

The Arizona trout is found only in the Arizona.

Bisbee, located in Tombstone Canyon, is known as the Queen of the Copper Mines. During its mining history the town was the largest city between Saint Louis and
San Francisco.

The original London Bridge was shipped stone-by-stone and reconstructed in Lake Havasu City.

The Arizona ridge-nosed rattlesnake is perhaps the most beautiful of all eleven species of rattlesnakes found in Arizona. Thirteen
species of rattlesnakes live in Arizona, more species than in any other state.

Located in Fountain Hills is a fountain believed to be the tallest in the world.

Four Corners is noted as the spot in the United States where a person can stand in four states at the same time.

The age of a saguaro cactus is determined by its height.

Arizona, among all the states, has the largest percentage of its land set aside and designated as Indian lands.

The world's largest solar telescope is located at Kitts Peak National Observatory in the city of Sells.

Tombstone, Ruby, Gillette, and Gunsight are among the ghost towns scattered throughout the state.

Arizona observes Mountain Standard Time on a year round basis, never observing daylight savings time.

The original London Bridge was shipped stone-by-stone and reconstructed in Lake Havasu City.

In World War II, many Navajos enlisted as secret agents. Our enemies could never understand the Navajo language to learn our military secrets.

The sun shines in southern Arizona 85% of the time, which is considerably more sunshine than Florida or Hawaii. Arizona also frequently has the hottest and coldest
temperatures on the same day. The temperature could be 75 degrees in the desert to 45 degrees in the high country.

Camels were used at one time to transport goods across Arizona.

Arizona has the largest percentage of its land set aside and designated as Indian lands.

The Anasazi Indians made waterproof baskets that they cooked in. They put hot rocks in with the food to cook it.

Oraibi is the oldest Indian settlement in the United States. The Hopis Indians founded it.

The capital of the Navajo Reservation is Window Rock.

The Navajo Reservation, the nation's largest reservation, lies primarily in Arizona and extends into Utah and New Mexico.

Navajo Community College in Tsaile, was the first college on an Indian reservation.

The Navajo Nation Zoological and Botanical Park is the only tribally-owned zoo in the U.S.

The Hopi Indians of Arizona are noted for growing their multicolored corn.

Clark Gable and Carole Lombard, two of the most prominent movie stars of Hollywood’s Golden Age, were married on March 18, 1939,
in Kingman, Arizona.

Billy the Kid killed his first man, Windy Cahill, in Bonita, Arizona

Rooster Cogburn Ostrich Ranch in Picacho, Arizona is the largest privately-owned ostrich ranch in the world outside South Africa.

If you cut down a protected species of cactus in Arizona, you could spend more than a year in prison

Sandra Day O’Connor, the first woman appointed to the U.S. Supreme Court, grew up on a large family ranch near Duncan, Arizona.

Barry Goldwater, a famous public official, senator, and presidential candidate was born in Phoenix.

State Facts History Firsts

The United States of America is located in the middle of the North American continent with Canada to the north and the United Mexican States to the south. The United States ranges from the Atlantic Ocean on the nation's east coast to the Pacific Ocean bordering the west, and also includes the state of Hawaii, a series of islands located in the Pacific Ocean, the state of Alaska located in the northwestern part of the continent above the Yukon, and numerous other holdings and territories.